Leviticus 11:9-19: a reflection

9“‘You may eat of all these that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that you may eat. 10All that don’t have fins and scales in the seas and rivers, all that move in the waters, and all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are an abomination to you, 11and you shall detest them. You shall not eat of their meat, and you shall detest their carcasses. 12Whatever has no fins nor scales in the waters is an abomination to you. 13“‘You shall detest these among the birds; they shall not be eaten because they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 14the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15any kind of raven, 16the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.

This part of Leviticus lists which creatures Israel could eat and which they were to regard as unclean, fish with fins and scales but not others, certain birds to be avoided. Through such distinctions, drawn even into the everyday matter of food, Israel was constantly reminded that they were a people set apart, distinct from the nations around them, belonging to God. Every meal became a small reminder of their calling to be holy.

Notice how these laws wove the call to be distinct into the ordinary fabric of daily life. It was not only in the temple or on holy days that Israel was to remember they were set apart for God; even at the everyday table, in the ordinary business of eating, they were reminded that they were a distinct people, called to holiness. The distinction between clean and unclean kept the awareness of their calling constantly before them, in the most ordinary moments.

These particular laws are fulfilled in Christ and no longer bind us; the New Testament makes clear that no food is now unclean in itself. But the call they embodied remains: to be a distinct people, set apart for God, not only in special religious moments but in the ordinary details of everyday life. We too are called to holiness woven through the whole of daily life, not confined to religious occasions. Let the awareness that you belong to God, and are called to be distinct, reach into the ordinary details of your days, your work, your speech, your habits, your choices, not just your religious moments. As the food laws kept Israel's calling before them at every meal, let your belonging to God shape the whole of your ordinary life.

Lord, the food laws of Leviticus wove the call to be distinct into the everyday matter of eating, so that Israel was constantly reminded, even at the ordinary table, that they were a people set apart for you, called to holiness. Thank you that these particular laws are fulfilled in Christ and no longer bind me, for no food is unclean in itself. But the call they embodied remains: to be a distinct people, set apart for you, not only in special religious moments but in the ordinary details of everyday life. Help me not confine my holiness to religious occasions. Let the awareness that I belong to you, and am called to be distinct, reach into the ordinary details of my days, my work, my speech, my habits, my choices. As the food laws kept Israel's calling before them at every meal, let my belonging to you shape the whole of my ordinary life. Make me distinct for you in the everyday, not just the religious moments.